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Two seminal papers investigating the cognition involved in navigating modern, multi-crew aircraft developed a joint cognitive system approach while focusing on how a cockpit calculates and remembers speed (Henriqson et al. in Cogn Technol Work 13:217-231, 2011; Hutchins in Cogn Sci 19(3):265-288, 1995b). Although the joint cognitive systems approach constituted an advance over more traditional approaches focusing on individual pilot performances, both fall short of describing the cockpit joint cognitive system. Based on extensive ethnographic dataincluding recorded modified think-aloud protocols, debriefing sessions following (recorded) simulator biannual simulator assessments, and simulator performances followed by stimulated recall using simulator recordings-we show that a considerable amount of flying involves bodily and embodied knowledge sequentially and temporally organized in flows (kinetic melodies). These become apparent when pilots are asked to fly multiple aircraft (mixed-fleet flying), where the flow patterns from one cockpit are triggered in a physically and cognitively different cockpit. Focusing on embodied flows (kinetic melodies) allows us to highlight how cockpits forget speeds and how they fail to calculate the required speeds and speed-related events.

Regular performance assessment is an integral part of (high-) risk industries. Past research shows, however, that in many fields, inter-rater reliabilities tend to be moderate to low. This study was designed to investigate the variability of performance assessment in a naturalistic setting in aviation. A modified think-aloud protocol was used as research design to investigate the reasoning pairs of pilots use to assess the performance of an airline captain in a high-risk situation. Standard protocol analysis and interaction analysis methods were employed in the analysis of transcribed verbal protocols. The analyses confirm high variability in performance assessment and reveal the good, albeit fuzzy, justifications that assessor pairs use to ground their assessments. A fuzzy logic model exhibits a good approximation between predicted and actual ratings. Implications for the practice of performance assessment are provided. Relevance to industryGiven that a low performance assessment can lead to re-examination and change in employment status, many industries aim at achieving consistency in identifying true performance levels. In view of the complexity of flying a modern aircraft, variability in performance assessment may be the norm and high inter-rater reliability may never be achievable. However, if the variability in performance assessment is a real phenomenon, as reported here, then practitioners and research might have to test whether it can be used positively (e.g., as opportunity for fruitful discussions during training situations that improve the resilience of flight crews).

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Academic institutions and airlines have always worked together to develop and conduct research studies. However, most often the expertise or areas of interest of the academics have driven these studies. In this paper, we illustrate the results of an industry–university collaboration that generated data that the airline could use to engage in evidence-based decision making. The example given regards issues emerging from mixed-fleet flying, generally related to reverse transition from glass to analogue cockpits.